Anderson's Manchester United Future More Than Bleak After Dismal Performance vs. Stoke

By Stowe Gregory

Image via @ManUtd on Twitter

On a night where attitude was vital, Manchester United‘s Anderson showed nothing to be proud of and his future is now on the line. At blustery Stoke City, David Moyes‘ United side managed to win 2-0 to advance into the semifinals on the Capital One Cup, but one performance stuck out like a sore thumb.

Anderson could perhaps be excused for not pulling off an dominant performance due to the poor weather conditions, with the game being delayed in the first half due to hail storms; but with the season reaching its halfway point, he has shown little signs of warranting a place anywhere near United’s first team.

Attitude and strength of character to battle on through the conditions were required on Wednesday night. Anderson failed to do anything positive in reality. His ball retention varied from poor to uninspiring, and as a ‘creative midfielder’ goes, he was once again dismal.

The time has to be coming for the departure of Anderson at United. I am one of those people who is strongly against selling squad players just because they aren’t special, but Anderson has had opportunities time and time again to impress and he has looked to be a weak alternative each and every time.

This is a man who has struggled to learn English despite arriving in 2007 and a man who has had the chance to make a midfield position his own on multiple occasions, but has failed to come close almost every time. Moyes noticed he was offering United nothing of any importance at all against Stoke and took him off for another striker. United soon turned into a side looking likely to score, and two goals indeed shortly followed.

With Darren Fletcher back, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini on the mend, Anderson’s future at United is now more than bleak. He is 25 and still reasonably young, but he has failed to take chances year after year, and the time has come for the team to cash in.

Stowe Gregory is a Soccer and Sports writer for RantSports.com. Follow him or tweet on Twitter @stowegregory. Or add to circles on Google+.